Freed Gaza Prisoner Describes “Hell Beneath the Ground” Inside Israel’s Secret Rakevet Detention Middle

A recently freed Palestinian detainee has delivered devastating testimony detailing what he calls “a hell beneath the ground” inside Israel’s underground Rakevet Detention Center in Ramla, where Gaza prisoners are allegedly tortured, starved, and subjected to systematic dehumanization.

The account, published by the Prisoners’ Media Office and shared by DropSite News, came from a released detainee identified as M.N., who described enduring “layers of torment” as he was transferred from the Nitzarim checkpoint to Ofer Prison, and finally to the underground isolation wing known as Rakevet.

“Words must leave their hiding place and reach the ears of living consciences,” M.N. said, “so they might save what remains of the prisoners’ bodies down there.”

The “Trap Crossing” and Arrest

M.N. said his ordeal began on November 16, 2023, when he was captured at what he called “the trap crossing — the so-called safe passage at Nitzarim.” He described the ensuing treatment as degrading, recounting that detainees were blindfolded, shackled, and forced to kneel for hours without being allowed to speak or move.

“The way they transported us from Nitzarim to the barracks in Gaza was humiliating and degrading — unfit even for animals,” he said. “The young men were blindfolded, their hands and feet shackled, forced to sit on their knees, forbidden to speak or move.”

Inside Ofer Prison

At Ofer Prison, M.N. said his interrogation lasted “about a month and a half” and involved continuous psychological and physical torture. Gaza detainees, he claimed, were divided into tiers of suffering.

“Section 23 was for new detainees. They were treated brutally — curses and beatings three times a day, causing bleeding and injuries without medical care,” he said. “Section 10, the isolation ward, had five small rooms meant for two or three, but during the war they crammed about thirty detainees — eight per room barely three meters wide including the toilet.”

Prisoners were allegedly chained together by their feet for nearly 20 hours a day, permitted to sleep just four hours on “rotten, wet mattresses.” M.N. said the walls were black with mold, the air suffocating, and that even the limited water supply was contaminated.

The Rakevet Detention Center: “A Hell Beneath the Ground”

M.N. called Ofer “only a station of hell leading to what was even worse.” On September 10, 2024, he said, he was among dozens transferred to the newly opened Rakevet section, a fortified isolation unit buried beneath the larger Nitzan Prison in Ramla.

“Our arrival was like an epic of pain — bleeding, wounds, fractures, torture beyond description,” he said. “The suffering continued with humiliation, beatings, deprivation of food and sleep.”

Cells measured 3 by 2 meters, built for two prisoners but often housing four, he explained. “From four in the morning until midnight the mattresses were taken away, and we were forced to sit on rough flooring designed to torture us.”

He described the so-called “recreation time” as a cruel mockery: “It was a room a little larger than the cell, without sun, air, or light. We stayed there handcuffed. We were forbidden to pray in congregation or alone, forbidden to read the Qur’an or even to pray silently.”

Medical Neglect and Torture

According to M.N., no significant medical care exists within Rakevet. “When someone’s condition worsens, the doctor comes only after a long delay, and even then offers no treatment,” he said. Diseases such as skin fungi and scabies spread unchecked. Detainees were frequently gassed, beaten, or forced to curse their faith and families, even the elderly among them.

“They sprayed pepper gas inside the rooms whenever they wished, regardless of those with respiratory disease or chronic illness,” he said. “I hope these scenes of torment reach living consciences — to save the shackled bodies inside Rakevet and demand an end to their suffering.”

Systematic Torture and Isolation

His account adds to mounting evidence gathered by independent rights organizations. Reports from TRT World, The New Arab, and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society corroborate accounts of underground torture facilities at Ramla’s Rakevet section, where detainees are monitored 24/7, denied sunlight, and barred from legal counsel or contact with their families. Israeli media itself has described the Rakevet facility as a “concrete vault” built for total isolation.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said detainees are kept “in total isolation, completely cut off from the world,” while legal advocates told TRT that lawyers visiting Ramla saw prisoners “visibly shaken, some unable to speak due to trauma.”

“Living Tombs”

The testimonies from Rakevet contribute to what rights groups now describe as one of Israel’s gravest humanitarian crises since the Gaza war began. M.N.’s final plea was to “living consciences” beyond the walls.

“I hope what I’ve seen becomes impossible to deny,” he said. “Rakevet isn’t a prison — it’s a tomb for the living.”